Disposal Of Sulphur Mine Effluents---How Freeport Sulphur Solved Its Effluent Problems ? Introduction

The Freeport Sulphur Company operates four sulphur mines in the coastal marsh area-03 South Louisiana. Employing the Frasch process of mining, approximately 13-million gallons of water per day is heated to a mining temperature of 325°F and is injected into the sulphur bearing formations of the four mines. A volume of cold waste water, roughly equal to the Input, is removed from the formations and presents a disposal problem. Two additional mines are currently being developed and will increase the disposal volume by an additional 5-million gallons per day. Although these properties are in a relatively small area, geographically speaking, as shown in Figure 1, they each represent a separate disposal problem with the treatment methods designed for the individual mine.